The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has explained that the long period it took to rescue abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State was due to efforts by security agencies to protect the victims from further danger.
Naija News reports that Disu said security operatives avoided rushing into action because any wrong move could have placed the lives of the captives at greater risk.
He added that the decision came amid public criticism over the pace of the rescue operation.
The police chief gave the explanation during a press briefing on Thursday while speaking about the abduction of pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The victims were taken away in May 2026 after suspected terrorists attacked two schools in the area.
The attackers reportedly escaped with the pupils and teachers using a vehicle belonging to one of the school officials before abandoning and burning it near the forest area.
After 56 days in captivity, the victims were eventually rescued through a joint operation involving security agencies.
Disu said the rescue mission was difficult because of the location of the incident, poor communication networks and limited security facilities in the area.
He explained that the attackers operated in a remote community where access routes were few and communication was almost impossible.
According to him, police officers, soldiers and local vigilantes joined efforts to track the abductors after the incident.
He added that the operation came with risks, as a police officer lost his life while following the trail of the criminals.
He said: “I will share with you the incident of the Ogbomosho kidnap. That day, they came. Two schools they went to and kidnapped those children and their teachers.
“They used the vehicle of one of the teachers, the head teacher. When they got to the entrance of the bush that they were going to, they set fire to the vehicle. We didn’t know why they did it.
“In that area, there is no network at all, at all. And I think even police station far, far, far, far from them. But they had only one street, one road that goes to the two villages where this kidnap happened.
“Policemen came, soldiers came, vigilante came. I’m talking to you now because it’s only us who are here. They followed them, the path. Somebody was shot as we were following them.
“From that moment, the Nigerian Air Force helicopter, the police helicopter, everybody were there searching day and night.
“Everybody were attacking us, left and right, with gun security. What is this? What is that? We cannot come out and talk. We cannot expose those children.
“There’s something they call collateral damage. People are forcing us. People are comparing us to other countries in the world. They wanted us to take hasty decisions.
“So now, every night, your husband came out at that time and told you he was going to meet him. It is true. We were holding meetings late in the night about it, trying to take decisions.
“Most of this, we did not come back and even tell a lot of our colleagues because we wanted to keep it secret. Parties we could not attend. A lot of things happened, we could not talk about it.”
